Black and White

Smyth-Helms 1915

In 1915 James Ferguson Smyth invited Hermann Helms to play a practice game at the Manhattan Chess Club. They had reached the position above when Helms, as Black, found a brilliant two-move mate. What is it?

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22. … Qg2+! 23 Kxg2 Rxg3# The whole game is here. Helms’s brilliancy was so inspiring that Anthony Santasiere produced an oil painting of the position, which for many years hung in the Marshall Chess Club.

September 22, 2020September 21, 2020 | Puzzles